Thursday, 27 February 2014

Fujifilm Instax Mini Camera

I bought my first Fujifilm instax mini camera about six years ago, and at the start of this year it sadly died. it was an instax mini 7s, and I loved it very much. so I decided to take the plunge and buy a new one - this time I got the next version up, the instax mini 8. I bought it on eBay with 5 packs of film (50 photos worth) and a close up lens, and was actually really surprised by how reasonable it was! I've not taken very many photos with it yet, but I've had a bit of an experiment, and it's safe to say that it's even better than my old one! there is an even newer one, the istax mini 25, which has a built in close up lens, but it was about £30 more, and I didn't think it was worth that extra money (because I'm a tightwad like that!) I was slightly tempted by it, but only because they do a limited edition Hello Kitty version....

the picture quality is the most noticeable difference - images are sharper and crisper, and as it has more settings for how bright the flash is, you don't end up with lots of really dark, underexposed photos, like I did with the instax mini 7. also, if you're thinking of buying the instax mini 8, make sure you get a close up lens! they are really cheap (about £5) and it means you can take self portraits (it clips on the lens at the front and has a little mirror so you can make sure you're in shot) and you can also take pictures closer than without as it has a bit of a macro effect to it. it uses the same Fujifilm instax mini film as all the other instax mini cameras, which is really good as I had a stash left over from my last camera, which are credit card sized, with a white border and space to write a note on (kind of like polaroids, but rectangular and smaller!)

so happy I bought this - I was in two minds about it for about a month, as I hate replacing things that break (I sort of hope if I wait long enough it will just magically come back to life or something!) but the new instax mini has definitely been worth the money! do any of you guys have an instax? what do you think of it?

4 comments:

I have the old instax and I really like it. I find that I often overexpose the shots though....I wish there was a way to turn the flash off completely, because even on the 'clear' setting, the flash still fires.

you can sometimes pick up secondhand ones on eBay really reasonably - my first one was from there and it cost me about £40 I think. the most expensive part is the film, but that's also cheaper on eBay. the best value is to get a camera and film combo deal :) maybe ask for one for your birthday or for christmas? xo